The .eu domain turns two! EURid The European Registry of Internet Domain Names Summer 2008 6 Photo: Pia Johansson Perfect match: .eu and education 8 “It makes sense to use .eu,” says Tobias Åbonde, CEO of Box Sweden. Box is a leading provider of express and logistics services in five European countries and may expand in the future. Finding a place in the sun with .eu On the move with .eu 10 Logistics and transportation companies embrace .eu for corporate websites The .eu domain not only enables businesses, organ- On page 4, for example, you can read about Box, a isations and residents to choose a pan-European leading provider of express logistics and warehousing Internet name for their websites and email addresses but services in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and also strengthens the European brand. A .eu domain Sweden, while on page 2 you can read about Terra- tells the world you’re open for business across all vision, an airport coach shuttle service that began of Europe. No wonder logistics and transportation offering service between Ciampino airport and Rome 25 years of companies have embraced .eu domain names for their city centre in 2002 and now offers coach services at corporate websites. 12 airports across Europe. domain names Spotlight on EURid registrars 12 From the Managing Director The .eu domain recently celebrated its second The appeal of .eu extends beyond the logistics anniversary. Over the past two hectic years industry, of course. As we explore on page 6, a .eu has become established as the domain for .eu web address has proven a valuable asset for Europe by offering a single Internet identity for several higher education organisations working Photo: Philippe Veldeman 490 million Europeans in 27 countries. Today, to attract both European and non-European the .eu domain is among the top-ten largest students. globally, and .eu domain name registrations The open borders within the European Union continue to grow. itself – along with the growth in online shopping, In this newsletter you can see many examples marketing and advertising – has created enor- of companies that have chosen to base their mous opportunities. More and more businesses online presence on a .eu address. The logistics are recognising these opportunities through the industry offers a good illustration of the value use of .eu domain names. That fact adds to the of using a .eu domain name to reach out to reasons for celebrating the .eu second anni- customers across Europe. Nordic-based Box, versary. which you can read about on page 4, is just one example. Marc Van Wesemael EURid launches The airport shuttle service an end-user extranet Recently EURid launched an end-user extranet company Terravision uses .eu giving domain name holders better service. If you want to change registrar you can, via the Yakuta Rajabali, marketing director of Terravision London Ltd, extranet, obtain an authorisation code to pre- confirm the change and speed up the transfer says of their choice: procedure. On the extranet you can also see the contact data EURid has for your domain “Terravision is proud of its distinctive European and is featured in all advertising material and name and, if you are a private individual, you character and therefore chose a .eu domain to press releases. It is used internally for staff email can also select which parts of the contact data emphasise this as part of its corporate identity addresses and has recently been chosen for should be visible via the public WHOIS look-up as a leader in the European low-cost travel our exciting new venture, www.terracafe.eu,” service. See the EURid website for details. market. The move to a .eu domain presented Ms Rajabali says. us with an extra channel to communicate “The .eu extension is definitely an option not our brand values and was an essential step to be underestimated, since the right URL is forward for the company following its rapid one of the key elements which guarantees the Continued growth for .eu expansion throughout Europe.” popularity of a site. The .eu also provides the During the first quarter of 2008, the total num- The company is currently investing heavily user with an instantly recognisable indicator of ber of .eu domain name registrations rose by in online communication, she says, and the site content. It is likely that portals and search 4.3 percent. Around 2500 new .eu domain adoption of a single .eu domain name is only engines will increasingly group contents on a names are registered every business day. the first step of a complete structural reform European scale, and in this case .eu domains Although the number decreased in April, due for the Terravision website. will most certainly be favoured.” to the fact that a large proportion of the register- Terravision is a fairly new company that ed names were up for renewal, the increase came about to respond to a gap in the market between the end of the first quarter 2007 and place which appeared as a result of 2008 was almost 9 percent. Germany main- the low-cost airline boom in tains the lead in the number of .eu names, Europe. The company with almost 900 000 .eu names registered. started by offering a shuttle service between Ciampino airport and Rome city centre in 2002 and has since expanded to offer airport shuttles from Did you know? several airports around Photo: Terravision Europe. The .eu domain is available to “The .eu domain is dis- played on our fleet of coaches 490 million Europeans in 27 countries. This newsletter was produced in June 2008 by EURid. Layout and production: Typeman Design If you would like extra copies or have questions, please send an email to [email protected]. The European Registry of Internet Domain Names Woluwelaan 150, 1831 Diegem - Belgium 2 .eu celebrates its 2nd birthday! The top-level domain .eu has grown out of its infancy to become a lively Important steps for .eu toddler, and celebrated its second birthday in April 1999 The first discussion about a possible .eu Over the span of two years .eu has become to ensure that domain starts within the European Council one of Europe’s largest top-level domains and .eu becomes can today count more than 2.7 million register- more visible, ed domain names. Approximately 2500 new secure and May 2003 domain names are registered each business affordable.” EURid is chosen by the European Commis- day, as .eu becomes more widely used around In terms of sion to be the registry in charge of the .eu Europe. The .eu top-level domain uniquely total number of top-level domain. offers one common European identity on the .eu registrations Internet for 490 million Europeans in 27 different per country of Community 2008 Photo: European 7th of April 2006 countries. origin, Germany .eu registrations open to the public This makes .eu, at its second birthday, the continues to fourth most popular top-level domain in Europe lead followed by Viviane Reding, Commissioner for and the ninth worldwide. the Netherlands, Information Society and Media, says that .eu should become the April 2006 Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for the United King- natural choice for everyone in The number of .eu domain names Information Society and Media, commented: dom, France Europe. reaches 1 million. “The creation of a trustworthy environment with and Italy. a distinct European identity is at the forefront Registrations for .eu domains have been of my vision for Europe’s inclusive Information growing continuously following the boom in its June 2006 Society. Early adopters of .eu understood its first year. The biggest growth has been noted The number of .eu domain names reaches 2 million. value and have grasped the opportunity to pro- in some northern and eastern parts of the EU. mote their own pan-European outlook. It should On another happy note, worth celebrating, ap- now become the natural choice for everyone in proximately 80 percent of domain names have April 2008 Europe. The stronger Europe’s single market for been renewed for their second year, showing .eu celebrates its second birthday telecommunications grows, the more we ought that confidence in .eu is high. 3 Using .eu makes sense, according to Tobias Åbonde, CEO of Box Sweden. “The borders are being erased in logistics,” he notes. “A lot of logistics companies have ambitions to be bigger. When you have that ambition, you are looking at a strategy to appeal to a large market.” Photos: Pia Johansson Like .eu, new MyQuickBox delivery service offers flexibility Box is a leading provider of express and logistics services in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Recently the company began rolling out a new service called MyQuickBox, which gives online retailers a way to offer shoppers more flexibility and security. yQuickBox delivery station looks some- table using a credit card for online purchases regardless of which country he is working in. thing like an oversized vending mach- can choose to pay at the MyQuickBox station The company can also use the same web ine such as the kind you might find at instead. address for its letterhead. It’s more efficient. I M train stations and other public places. In Norway the new service is available in think we’re saving money by having the same Each metal unit, which is 252 cm high, 410 cm seven cities. In Sweden it is being launched in address for every office.” long and 140 cm deep, contains 76 individual Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. If suc- When it comes to the logistics industry, espe- compartments. Online purchases made from cessful, the service will be expanded.